


The Pact

by GeekofKhaos



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, College age Wendy Corduroy, Dipper is an awkward virgin, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Mostly Fluff, Okay as of chapter 7 things get VERY sexy, Older Dipper Pines, Smut, Things might get a bit sexy, a plot with some porn, porn with a plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:01:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23304310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeekofKhaos/pseuds/GeekofKhaos
Summary: “Tell you what, dude. If you still have this crush on me or whatever by the time you turn eighteen, as long as I’m not currently seeing someone, I’ll date you. Well, one date. If the date goes well, we can see where it goes from there. But this crush thing—we don’t talk about it until then—when you’re eighteen. Deal?”Dipper is finally eighteen, but unsure of whether or not Wendy remembers the deal they made on the evening of his fourteenth birthday. Does he bring their pact up to her in conversation, point blank? Does he just make a move and hope for the best?Dipper may be technically an adult now, but he still has no idea what he's doing.
Relationships: Wendy Corduroy & Dipper Pines, Wendy Corduroy/Dipper Pines
Comments: 58
Kudos: 139





	1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

It became clear, after the Pines twins’ second summer in Gravity Falls, that Dipper still harbored feelings for his best friend, Wendy Corduroy. Feelings she was unsure about, and that sometimes made things awkward between the two of them. Finally, the night of Dipper and Mabel’s fourteenth birthday party, she invited him up onto the Mystery Shack roof so they could talk in private. Dipper stared at her, wide-eyed, as she laid out the following proposal:

“Tell you what, dude. If you still have this crush on me or whatever by the time you turn eighteen, as long as I’m not currently seeing someone, I’ll date you. Well, one date. _If_ the date goes well, we can see where it goes from there. But this crush thing—we don’t talk about it until then—when you’re eighteen. Deal?”

Dipper swallowed. It might be his only chance to ever go on a date with Wendy. One date. _Heh. No pressure, future me_ , he thought.

Dipper nodded, and held his hand out to shake on it. “Deal.”

**Four Years Later**

“Happy birthday, dork!”

Dipper sat up in bed and blinked blearily. “What? Mabel?”

“Pfft. I should think not.”

“Wendy?!”

“Dude, I didn’t realize your eyesight was this bad. Go put your contacts in. I’ll wait.”

Dipper grunted and sat up, throwing his blankets aside. He momentarily considered being embarrassed that he was only wearing boxers, but he was too groggy to give much of a fuck.

Once he’d visited the bathroom to put his eyes in, he shuffled back to his and Mabel’s attic bedroom, and noticed the obvious lack of Mabel.

“Where’s my sister?”

Wendy shook her head, and tossed a pair of jeans at Dipper’s head. “Seriously, you’re useless right when you wake up. She stayed the night with her boy-crazy besties, remember?”

Dipper tried to step into the jeans and nearly fell over. Wendy caught him by the arm and steadied him until he was fully pantsed.

“Thanks,” Dipper said, with a nod. “For not letting me fall, I mean. Not for the whole ‘useless’ comment. Fuck you for that one. What time is it anyway?” He’d looked up at the triangle-shaped attic window, and realized the stars were still out.

Wendy chuckled. “It’s like two in the morning.”

Dipper sank back down onto his bed. “What...the fuck, Wendy?!” He peered up at her, looking as perky and rested as if she’d just gotten eight hours of sleep. She was wearing her favorite green flannel over a tank top and jeans, and he was surprised to see that she was also wearing his old blue and white, pine tree emblazoned, trucker cap.

Wendy shrugged. “It’s not every day your favorite person turns eighteen,” she said with a grin. “I just wanted us to get in as much quality time as possible, since you’re leaving tomorrow.”

That realization made Dipper’s stomach drop. He threw himself melodramatically back on the bed and whined, “Why did you have to remind me of that? Senior year is going to suck. Like, so, so much.”

“Why?” Wendy asked, kicking him lightly in the shin. “C’mon, I didn’t wake you up to mope around. We’re going out.”

“Ow,” Dipper muttered, as he stood up. “Because it’s pointless. I’ve already taken enough AP classes and scored high enough on my SATs to be admitted to most of the colleges that I’d want to go to. But I still have to take like two classes that my high school requires before graduation. The rest of my schedule is going to be study halls and electives.” He paused, and added, “Out? Out where?”

Wendy grabbed him by the hand and started pulling him toward the door. “Don’t freak out, it’s nothing social, like a club. This is Gravity Falls, remember? When I say ‘out,’ I mean ‘the woods.’”

“Wait, wait, Wen—shirt?” Dipper said, and pulled his hand from hers so he could quickly rummage through a dresser drawer. After pulling on the t-shirt he grabbed at random, he glanced down at his feet. “And socks and shoes.”

Wendy huffed and crossed her arms in mock impatience. “Geez, Pines. It’s like you’re _insisting_ on being completely clothed.”

Dipper raised an eyebrow at her as he tied his shoes. “Um, that’s like, a thing I commonly do… Wear...clothes. Especially when I’m going out somewhere.”

Wendy grinned and rolled her eyes. “I _said_ that by ‘out’ I meant ‘the woods,’ dude. C’mon.”

“Yeah, well... I also commonly wear clothing into the woods,” Dipper said, standing back up, finally fully clothed and shod. “In fact, not just commonly. Always. I always wear clothes when I go into the woods.”

Wendy cocked her head to the side, her fists planted on her hips. “Whatever, dork. You ready now?”

Dipper nodded. “Yes. Well, no, but… yes?”

Wordlessly, Wendy grabbed his hand and led him out of the Mystery Shack.


	2. Chapter 2

“So ‘woods’ is pretty broad in terms of destination,” Dipper said to the back of Wendy’s head, as she forged into the darkness between the trees, and he tried to keep up. “Also, don’t you need a flashlight?”

Wendy laughed, and without looking back, answered him. “What, do you want specific coordinates, man? I’m taking you somewhere I know you’ve never been—that’s all you need to know.”

Dipper sighed, then cursed quietly as he stumbled over a fallen branch which Wendy had nimbly avoided. “What about that flashlight, though?”

Wendy shrugged. “I know where I’m going and I have good night vision. Why, need me to hold your hand?” she teased, as she stopped and turned, waiting for him to catch up. He was moving slowly, and squinting down at his feet.

“No,” said Dipper firmly, just before he tripped over an exposed root and, in an attempt to regain his footing, collided face-first with a tree. “Ow, _fuck_ ,” he muttered, rubbing his nose. He glanced up at Wendy to see her eyes glinting at him in the moonlight filtering through the trees, a small smirk on her lips. He let out a defeated sigh, and held his hand out to her. “Yes.”

Wendy chuckled to herself, took his hand, and turned to lead on, walking a bit slower than she had been previously.

Dipper was immediately aware of how cold and clammy his hand must feel in her firm, warm grip. He still had feelings for her after all these years, and the pact they had made on the evening of his fourteenth birthday had been weighing heavily on his mind lately. Wendy’s stipulation had been that they _not_ discuss his feelings for her before his eighteenth birthday, and although he wanted to bring it up now (even though he wasn’t _technically_ eighteen until 9:07a.m.), he couldn’t think of a way to just weave it into conversation, without point blank saying ‘hey, remember back when I was fourteen and you said you’d go on a date with me once I was eighteen as long as I didn’t talk about my crush or make things awkward until then?’ Oh, and gods all _forbid_ he just ‘make a move’ on her. It would seem to Wendy like it was just coming out of nowhere, and she’d probably freak.

The problem was, since Dipper had followed Wendy’s instructions to the letter, and they had been strictly platonic friends since, with no allusions on his part otherwise, he had no idea if she was receptive to the idea of a date with him at all anymore. What if he brought it up, and the conversation had been so inconsequential to Wendy that she didn’t even remember having it? He would be mortified, and he knew Wendy would as well. What if that was the case, and it made things so awkward between them that it ended their friendship? The thought of that happening made Dipper feel sick to his stomach. Wendy was his absolute best friend in the world, even more-so than Mabel (although Mabel didn’t need to know that). During the school year, when he was back in Piedmont and Wendy was living on her university’s campus, they texted multiple times daily, and video-chatted whenever possible. Losing her friendship would be like losing a limb. He simply couldn’t imagine what it would be like to live without her.

“You’re being awful quiet, dude,” Wendy commented over her shoulder. “Something on your mind?”

“Oh, uh,” Dipper said, attempting to think on his feet, which was not his strong suit. “Just thinking I now know how it feels to be the sacrificial virgin in a B horror movie, being led into the forest to my inevitable slaughter at the hands of a cult. Or something.” Dipper was proud to have come up with a plausible answer that worked in their shared love of bad movies, and expected Wendy to laugh at his observation, or at least exhale air more forcefully than normal through her nostrils.

“Wait, are you really still a virgin?” Wendy sounded surprised, and genuinely curious.

Dipper had not expected that question. His entire body felt like it rose a degree or two in temperature, and he was glad it was dark, so that Wendy couldn’t see the alarming shade of red he was sure he’d turned. Both he and Wendy had had romantic relationships with others throughout the span of their friendship, although neither was in one now—but other than discussing annoying little things their current significant others did, they didn’t really talk about them to each other. Definitely not about the physical side of their relationships.

“Heh, I wh—uh,” Dipper stammered. It was true, although his comment moments ago hadn’t been meant to be taken as an admission. He held no assumptions that Wendy was a virgin, so he supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that she’d thought the same of him. The surprise in her voice had felt good, but it also stung. It just made everything he’d been thinking about even more awkward.

“Sorry, dude, didn’t mean to put you on the spot,” Wendy said after it became apparent that Dipper was unable to make words. “You don’t have to answer. I get it—it’s private.” She squeezed his hand, and Dipper squeezed back, grateful for her understanding, but still feeling like a total loser.

They walked in not-quite-awkward-but-not-entirely-comfortable silence for a few minutes, before Dipper composed himself enough to be able to talk again—as long as it wasn’t about his intact virginity.

“We’ve been going for awhile,” he observed. “Is where you’re taking me really out of the way?”

Wendy nodded. “You could say that. It’s one of the reasons for your two a.m. wake-up call. I wanted to be able to hang with you for a good while at our destination, but still get you back in time for your birthday party later today. Mabel would freaking kill me if I caused you to miss it.”

Dipper inhaled sharply. “Oof, good call. Mabel takes her parties a _little_ too seriously.”

Wendy chuckled. “Yeah, when I told her my plans for you, she threatened to _cut me_ if you weren’t back for the party. She was doing crafts at the time we talked, and, no joke, your sister _shook her exacto knife at me_.”

“You told Mabel about this? Does she know where you’re taking me?”

Wendy scoffed. “Dude, that’s what you’re worried about here? Your twin sister threatened me with what is _essentially_ a scalpel.”

“Meh,” Dipper said with a shrug. “You’re Wendy fucking Corduroy. I still remember your epic badassery during Weirdmageddon. You could definitely take my sister, exacto knife or not.”

Dipper heard Wendy inhale as if she was about to argue, but she blew the breath out and said, with a smile in her voice that Dipper could hear, “Well, yeah. You’re not wrong.”

After several more moments of silence, Dipper asked, “So you’re not going to mention this little conversation to Mabel, right?”

Wendy laughed and squeezed his hand. “Are you kidding? I don’t want to die.”

Dipper squeezed back and nodded. “That’s probably a wise decision.”


	3. Chapter 3

After following Wendy through the dark woods for nearly an hour, Dipper heard a sound that didn’t fit in with the rest of the nighttime forest noises. It was a low hum that got steadily louder, like they were walking toward it.

“Is that—am I hearing an engine?” he asked quietly, and mostly to himself, although Wendy overheard and answered.

“Not quite, but good guess, dork! You’ll see what it is in a minute.”

Dipper frowned, but continued to follow closely behind her. She still held his hand tightly enough that she’d probably yank him over if he tried to stop walking. For someone so willowy, Wendy was incredibly strong. Dipper had always admired (and honestly, been slightly jealous of) Wendy’s strength, and her pure, natural athleticism. The small amount of muscle that adorned his thin frame had come from a lot of work—actual blood, sweat, and tears—after he’d taken up running and boxing two years ago.

“Okay, Dipper,” Wendy said, stopping and turning to face him, letting go of his hand in the process. “Close your eyes.”

Dipper tried to peer around Wendy, and he realized that there was light coming through the trees ahead of them. That explained the noise that had gotten progressively louder—obviously there was a generator out here, powering something. But what… and _why_?

“But—”

“No buts, dork,” Wendy said, moving swiftly around Dipper so that she was behind him. He jerked, startled, when her hands came up over his eyes. She pressed herself into his back, and steered him forward. “I promise I won’t run you into a tree,” she murmured into his ear, a smile in her voice.

Dipper shivered involuntarily as he moved slowly in the direction that Wendy prompted him. The two of them had hugged on many occasions, but this was different. It was prolonged, for one thing. Their normal hugs lasted a second or two, after which they returned to their own personal bubbles. Wendy had never been this close to Dipper for this long, and he was deeply aware of every point of contact between their bodies. He walked slowly, not wanting the moment to end.

It couldn’t last forever, unfortunately, and soon the noise of the generator increased enough that Dipper realized they must have crossed the treeline into a clearing.

“I’m gonna move my hands now, but keep your eyes closed for just one more sec, okay?” said Wendy.

“’Kay,” murmured Dipper. He was burning with intense curiosity (among other feelings), but did as she asked.

Wendy’s footsteps retreated, and were followed by what sounded like the squeak of a screen door being opened, along with the dull thud of it closing.

“Wendy?” Dipper called out, confused.

“Keep ‘em closed!” Wendy answered, her voice sounding somewhat muffled and distant, like she was behind a wall.

Dipper took a deep breath, and blew it out slowly. His anxiety was ramping up, and he was beginning to feel lightheaded. Luckily, Wendy didn’t keep him waiting much longer. The squeak and thud of the (possible?) screen door opening and closing let Dipper know she was on her way back to him.

Or so he thought.

With no warning, the noise of the generator cut off, and a deafening silence settled over the clearing. The bit of light Dipper had been able to detect through his closed eyelids was gone, a deep black taking its place.

“Wendy?!” Dipper yelled, panic forcing his eyes open.

“Don’t freak, I’m here,” she said, from next to him. She slipped a warm hand into his, and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “The noise from the generator kind of killed the vibe out here, so I went to light some candles. What do you think?” She gently tugged his hand, and led him forward.

Dipper squinted at sight before him. He saw the dark silhouette of a small cabin, candlelight filtering out through its windows. With the rumble of the generator gone, he realized that there was running water nearby—a small waterfall, by the sound of it.

“What is this place?” he whispered, as they approached the screen door of the cabin. Wendy pulled the door open for him and followed him inside. He stood in the vestibule, eyes wide, as he took in the inside of the cabin.

The warm, flickering candlelight illuminated a ruggedly furnished room, with a small kitchenette in the back left corner, and a full-size bed in the back right corner. Between the two areas, against the back wall, was a door, leading to what Dipper assumed must be a bathroom. At the front of the room, on the left side, there was a large, stone fireplace, flanked by bookcases, and complete with a bearskin rug spread out on the floor in front of it. Across from the fireplace, a sturdy, flannel-covered sofa completed the decor.

Dipper turned to face Wendy, his eyebrows raised in question.

“This is Aislynn’s Grove,” she said. “My dad built it for my mom as a wedding present. She used to bring me out here for ‘girl’s weekends’ when I was growing up. I have a lot of good memories here.”

“This is awesome. How come you never told me about it before?” Dipper asked, stepping further into the room.

Wendy shrugged. She crossed in front of him and sat down on the sofa, patting the cushion next to her.

“I guess—it’s the only thing I have left of my mom that’s really _mine_ , you know?” Wendy said, as Dipper sank down onto the sofa beside her. “I suppose I just haven’t been ready to share it with anyone.”

Dipper felt a blush creep across his face. “Oh,” he said softly. “Well, then, why share it with me? Why now?”

Wendy nudged him lightly with an elbow. “You know why, dork,” she said with a small grin.

Dipper glanced down at the bearskin rug lying at their feet, his pulse beginning to hammer in his ears. He was terrified he was reading the situation all wrong. “No, I-I don’t think I do,” he managed to stammer out.

Wendy sighed, and stood up off the sofa. “Whatever, man. Want something to drink? It’s the main reason I came out here earlier today and turned the generator on—to chill the cider.”

Dipper’s head shot up. “Cider? Like… apple juice?”

Wendy laughed as she opened the mini fridge in the corner. “Oh man, you really are an innocent, aren’t you, dork?” She held up a glass bottle for him to see before using an opener to snap the top off. “No, not like apple juice. Hard cider.”

“I’ve never even had a beer,” Dipper said, when Wendy handed him a bottle and sat back down next to him. “Not that I haven’t wanted to. Just, drinking seems like a social thing, and well, you know my friend situation back in Piedmont.”

Wendy arched a brow at him. “I’m aware,” she said, before taking a long pull from her bottle. “Look, I’m not trying to pressure you. I just thought that for your birthday, you might like to hang out with me at my favorite spot in the world, and have a drink. But if you don’t want to—”

Wendy reached for Dipper’s bottle, but he quickly moved it to his lips and began to gulp the contents, not stopping until he’d drained it. Upon finishing it he stood up and tossed the empty bottle in the bin, then grabbed another cider from the fridge before sitting back down.

“Um, okay then,” Wendy muttered. She took a drink and gave Dipper the side-eye as he gulped down half of his new bottle in one go. “Dude, are you _trying_ to get shitfaced?”

Dipper stared at the fireplace, rolling his bottle absently between his hands. To be quite honest, he wasn’t sure what he was doing. Logically he knew he was being an idiot, but maybe it was time to turn off his logic for once. He needed to get out of his head. He was so worried about Wendy’s reaction to him bringing up their pact, that his anxiety could very well prevent him from talking to her about it, and he might never have another chance to be more than friends with her. The plan, then, was to drink just enough to kick his anxiety to the curb, so he could tell Wendy he still had feelings for her.

“Not trying to get shitfaced, per se,” Dipper said, finally turning to look at Wendy so he could answer her with at least partial honesty. “I just need to get out of my head for a while.” He tossed back the rest of his cider, and went for another one. When he sat back down, Wendy placed a hand on his knee.

“Dude, is everything okay?” she asked, genuine concern in her voice. “You’re acting kinda out of character, here.”

Dipper was already feeling the effects of his first two drinks—he was getting very warm, and his head felt a little weeble-wobbly on his neck. He grinned, picturing himself as a bobblehead. When he turned to look Wendy in the eyes, the room seemed to lag behind his vision by a split second.

“I just,” he mumbled, his tongue feeling thick in his mouth. He took a swig of cider, and tried again. “A-anxiety is a real bitch, y’know?”

Wendy finally drained the dregs from her first cider, and sat the empty bottle on the side table next to the sofa. Her brow furrowed, then her eyes widened, and she looked horrified. “Oh, _shit_ , Dipper, I totally forgot you take anxiety meds! Fuck, I’m so sorry, you shouldn’t be drinking. Should I call poison control or something?” She pulled her phone from her pocket with one hand, and reached out to take his bottle from him with the other, but he held it away from her.

“Nonononononono, don’t freak out,” Dipper said, shaking his head and waggling a finger at her. “I used to, but doc took me off because it gave me weird side-effects. I have one med that’s prescribed ‘as-needed’, for panic attacks, but I haven’t had to take one all summer. Don’ worry Wendy, y’didn’t poison me.”

Wendy inhaled deeply, then lurched forward and wrapped Dipper in a tight embrace. “Gods, that scared me, dork,” she murmured. “Ugh, I definitely need another drink now.”

After she stood to get her second drink, Dipper gulped the remnants of his third bottle, and sat it aside. He was probably at his limit for the night. He’d already started slurring slightly, and he didn’t want to, as Wendy put it, get ‘shitfaced,’ and not be able to hold, or remember, a coherent conversation.

This was it, then. Dipper needed to be brave. To face his fears, and tell Wendy that not only had his feelings for her never changed—that if anything, they’d intensified. That she was the reason all his romantic relationships had been so short-lived: every girl he dated, he subconsciously had compared to her, and every girl fell short.

Lost in thought, Dipper was startled when Wendy plopped back down on the sofa next to him.

“So what’s got you so anxious that you slammed three ciders in less than fifteen minutes?” she asked. She took a swig of cider and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, staring at him expectantly.

Dipper swallowed, slightly lightheaded, his face overly warm. This was it. This was really it.

“Wendy, I...” he trailed off as he looked up and they locked eyes. Her gaze was both curious and concerned, her warm and caring nature shining through like a beacon. She inclined her head to him and waited for him to continue. He wanted to do nothing more than pull her to him and kiss her passionately, but his lightheadedness grew worse, and he felt like he was going to hyperventilate.

“Yes, Dipper?” Wendy encouraged, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You what?”

“I...I-” He sprang to his feet, stumbling slightly, his heart pounding as he backed away from the sofa. “I have to pee?”


	4. Chapter 4

Dipper _did_ have to pee. It wasn’t a lie. The cider had run right through him. It just also happened to be a convenient excuse to put off speaking the words he was still too terrified to voice. After all, the only time he’d confessed his love to Wendy previously, she’d shot him down. She’d been nice about it, sure, but it had broken his heart. He wasn’t keen to relive that experience.

After emptying his bladder in the small bathroom at the back of the cabin, Dipper flushed the toilet, washed his hands, and then stared at himself in the mirror with contempt.

_You’re a fucking coward._

“What?” Wendy called from out on the sofa. Dipper started. He hadn’t realized he’d said that out loud.

“N-nothing!” he called back. He dried his hands and exited the bathroom, walking carefully back to the couch, while the room tilted around him.

Wendy smiled up at him as he sat down. “Better?”

Dipper nodded. Without a bottle of cider to hold, he wasn’t sure what to do with his hands, so he tapped them on the top of his thighs. “So...” he said, watching as Wendy downed the rest of her second cider.

Wendy sat the empty bottle on the side table and sighed, leaning back into the sofa cushions. “So.”

Dipper blew out a breath and tapped his hands on his thighs again. He wasn’t sure what to say.

Wendy had a suggestion for him, however. “What was it you were going to say you were anxious about before you ran off to pee? Because I assume you having to pee wasn’t what caused your anxiety.”

Dipper nodded. “You’d be correct in that assumption.” He looked down at his lap, and tried to focus on how to word his feelings for Wendy. Unfortunately, due to having never had alcohol before, and having not eaten since five the previous evening, his thoughts were muddled and fuzzy.

“So are you gonna tell me, or make me guess?” Wendy asked, with a chuckle.

“Is-is that an option?” Dipper stammered. He meant it as a joke. Maybe.

Wendy punched him lightly in the shoulder. “C’mon, man. I know you better than anyone else on God’s green earth, so I _know_ when something is bothering you. What’s wrong?”

Dipper inhaled deeply. He had to be honest with her. She was his best friend. She deserved that much.

“Wendy, I...” he trailed off, worried that an outright declaration of love might freak her out. “Do you remember me and Mabel’s fourteenth birthday party?”

Wendy’s lips twitched upward at the corners. “Yeah. Soos wasn’t available to DJ, so Stan tried to… and it didn’t go well.”

Dipper nodded, and licked his lips. “Do you remember anything else about that night?”

Wendy looked down at her hands. “Yeah, I do.”

Dipper sighed. She just couldn’t make this easy for him, could she? “What is it you remember?”

After several moments of silence, Wendy turned her head to look at Dipper, and asked him, “Why? Is there something in particular you’re hoping I’ll remember?”

Dipper bit his lower lip. He closed his eyes, so the room would stop spinning, and he said it. “The pact?”

His eyes were still closed, so he didn’t see Wendy’s expression when she asked “What pact?”

Dipper had to disguise a sob as a sharp laugh. “It was—just—nothing,” he said, his voice quavering. He turned his head away from Wendy, so that he could wipe away the tears attempting to pool in the corners of his eyes.

“Dude,” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Dipper.”

“Yeah?” Dipper asked, his throat tight. He couldn’t turn to face her. He hadn’t realized how much he’d been counting on Wendy remembering the pact and having feelings for him, too—he felt like his entire world was falling apart.

“Look at me,” she said, her voice low. She caught his chin between her fingers, and turned his head back toward her. “Dipper, look at me.”

Dipper took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He was met with Wendy’s green gaze—level, confident, and full of love.

“I didn’t forget,” she breathed, as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him against her—and then her mouth was on his. Her lips were warm and soft, and tasted of apples. Dipper involuntarily moaned low, the noise rising up from the pit of his stomach.

He pulled away from Wendy slightly, still close enough that his lips brushed hers when he spoke. “I thought the deal was we go on one date, _then_ maybe get to this part.”

Wendy laughed, and kissed the tip of his nose. “This _is_ the date, dumbass.”

Dipper frowned. “But I thought—you didn’t say… Dammit, Wendy, you knew exactly why I was anxious this whole time!” The words were accusatory, but his tone was not. He couldn’t possibly be mad at her after she kissed him the way she had.

Wendy shrugged and arched an eyebrow. “What can I say? You haven’t acted that awkward around me since your first summer here, and it made me feel a bit nostalgic. You’re adorable when you’re all nervous and flustered.”

“I’m not adorable,” Dipper said, with a slight pout. “I’m manly.”

Wendy smiled up at him from under her lashes as she ran her hands over his biceps and shoulders, the areas of his body that had most visibly benefited from him taking up boxing. Then she leaned in, and whispered into his ear, her lips brushing his earlobe and sending shivers down his spine.

“I never said you weren’t _also_ manly, Dipper.”

Dipper leaned back to look at her, and she stared at him expectantly, with a coy, half-smile, as if she thought he was going to say something. It was her turn to be surprised then, when Dipper launched himself at her, his force sending them tumbling to the floor in a mess of tangled limbs and passionate kisses.

They made out on the bear-skin rug for nearly a half-hour, their lips bruised and necks peppered with hickies when they finally took a breather.

“So how long have you been planning this ‘date,’ anyway?” Dipper asked, leaning up on an elbow to look down at Wendy, her flannel overshirt tossed aside in a heap, and her long red hair tangled and spread out over brown bear fur.

She smiled up at him, and bit her lower lip. “Since the night of your fourteenth birthday party,” she said, a blush creeping over her cheeks.

Dipper’s eyes widened. “But-I-I thought—” he sputtered. “You made it seem like I was a last resort—like _if_ you weren’t dating anyone when I turned eighteen, you’d _deign_ to give me a chance with you.”

Wendy shook her head, but also looked away, unable to meet Dipper’s eyes. “It wasn’t like that. Not at all.”

Dipper frowned. He pushed up from the floor and strode over to the mini-fridge where he opened himself another cider (even though he knew, logically, that he shouldn’t have any more), before settling back down on the sofa. “Okay, then. Please explain what it _was_ like.”

Wendy sat up and leaned against the sofa, hugging her knees to her chest. “Please don’t be mad at me,” she said. She sounded small and vulnerable, which made Dipper feel like a hand had clamped around his heart and was squeezing.

He took a long swig of his cider before heaving a sigh and answering her. “I’m not mad, Wen. But now I’m just wondering—why bother with the pact in the first place? Was I not man enough for you back then, and you wanted to wait for me to grow up so you could see how I’d turn out?”

“I,” Wendy said, then paused and held up a finger. “I need another drink.” She stood and got herself a cider, then settled back down on the opposite end of the sofa from Dipper, her knees pulled to her chest again. She took a swig of her drink and cleared her throat before continuing.

“I’ve had a thing for you ever since we visited that haunted convenience store your first summer here. You were so brave, and you did what you had to to save everyone, even though it humiliated you. I knew then what a truly good person you were. But knowing you were two-and-a-half years younger than me made me feel weird, especially considering how young you _looked_ in comparison to me. That’s what kept me from telling you how I felt when you told me you loved me at the bunker. I actually felt the same, and it broke my heart to turn you down. But do you remember what I said to you then?”

Dipper’s hands were shaking as he took another long pull of his cider before answering her. “You said you were too old for me.”

Wendy nodded. She took a sip from her bottle, and cleared her throat before saying, “Exactly. I never said I didn’t love you too. I just felt like our age difference would be suspect. Then next summer we really became best friends. You kept dropping all these hints that you loved me, but the age difference still made me feel like a creeper. Then you had a growth spurt that July, remember?”

Dipper nodded. “Grew nearly a foot in one month.” He chuckled, staring down at the bottle in his hands. “That was the hungriest and skinniest I’ve ever been in my life.”

Wendy smiled at the memory. “Yeah. That summer you grew to be nearly as tall as me, and started actually looking like the teenager you were, as opposed to the child you’d appeared to be when we first met—and I was _really_ attracted to you. Not that you weren’t cute the summer before—you were just cute in a... cute kid kind of way. By your fourteenth birthday, however, I was imagining, on a regular basis, what it would be like to kiss you.”

“Why didn’t you, then?” Dipper asked, his voice cracking. He coughed and took a drink. “I mean, it would have been more than welcome.”

Wendy emptied the contents of her bottle, and sat it on the side table with a thump. “By the time I finally admitted to myself that I was seriously attracted to you, it was almost time for you to go back to Piedmont. I just—we only saw each other during the summer, and I didn’t want to do that to you. It wouldn’t be fair.”

Dipper swallowed, the muscles in his jaw tightening. “It might have been nice to decide for myself what was fair.” He finished his cider and stood to toss the empty bottle in the bin. The room tilted a bit to the left, so he stayed in the kitchenette, facing away from Wendy, and gripping the counter top to steady himself.

“Well, shortly after you started school that year, you got your first girlfriend,” Wendy said, her voice trembling. “And I convinced myself that what I had done was right. That you needed a girlfriend you could actually _be with_. And I wanted you to be happy, I really did! But in the back of my mind, when you broke up with her, and with every girl after her, I celebrated. I celebrated, because it meant there was still hope for me.”

Dipper clenched the counter top so tightly that his knuckles turned white. “ _Still hope for you_?” He let out a harsh laugh. “Wendy, no girl has ever had a chance with me _except_ for you! Whether or not I realized it at the time, looking back, I sabotaged every single one of my romantic relationships. I sabotaged them because they weren’t you—you are the only girl I have _ever_ wanted to be with, and trying to be with those other girls, I was essentially living a lie. Whenever I was in a ‘relationship’ it felt like my soul was being torn to pieces. When I’m around you, though, my soul feels whole.”

Dipper heard a muffled noise behind him, and turned to see Wendy approaching him with a hand over her mouth, her eyes shining with unshed tears. He leaned against the counter and held his arms wide. Wendy trotted the rest of the way to him, and threw her arms around his chest, burying her head in his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Dipper. I should have just told you the truth on your fourteenth birthday,” she murmured against his t-shirt. “The truth is that you mean more to me than any other person in the world. That you’re my best friend, but also everything I’ve ever wanted in a boyfriend. That whenever I see you, my heart-rate picks up a little, and my pulse pounds just a bit harder.” She paused and sniffed. “Did you really never notice that I only seemed to get a new boyfriend shortly after you got a new girlfriend? Or that very soon after you had a break-up, so did I?”

Dipper smiled, and kissed the top of Wendy’s head. “Well now that you tell me, it seems a little obvious—but no, I never realized. I was too busy being jealous as hell of whoever your current boyfriend happened to be. Because he was getting to do stuff with you. Stuff I wanted to do. Desperately.”

Wendy pulled away from Dipper slightly and smiled up at him, one eyebrow arched. “Stuff? What is this ‘stuff’ of which you speak, Pines?”

Dipper felt his face heat up, as he stammered, “Y-you know… _stuff_.” He bumped her pelvis with his groin, and immediately regretted the decision. “Ohmygod I can’t believe I just did that pleasekillmenow,” he muttered low. He turned his head to avoid Wendy’s gaze.

Wendy chuckled, and ran a hand along his cheek before gently pushing his head back toward her face. “Dipper, as adorable as you are when you’re nervous and flustered, you _do_ realize you don’t have to be? With me, I mean. I’d wager that I know you and your dorky ways better than anyone—even Mabel. That means I know it will probably come as a complete surprise to you when I tell you—look at me, dork—when I tell you that I’m a virgin, too.”

Wendy’s words sent another surge of heat to Dipper’s face, and various other body parts. He stared at her wordlessly, finally forcing out one word: “Why?”

Wendy smiled up at him from under her lashes, her cheeks pink beneath her freckles. “I suppose I just haven’t been ready to share it with anyone.”

Dipper opened his mouth, but she held a finger to his lips.

“You know why, dork.”

Dipper nodded, and pulled Wendy against him, kissing her fiercely. He pulled his lips from hers long enough to whisper against her mouth, “I know now, Wendy. And I love you, too.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this isn't exactly coherent. I'm a bit inebriated.

Dipper and Wendy spent the rest of the (very early) morning in the cabin's double bed, talking, kissing, and cuddling. Dipper had explained to a slightly disappointed Wendy that although he desperately wanted to do the 'stuff' with her that he now knew she hadn't done with her previous boyfriends, he also didn't want his first time to be while drunk—both for her sake, and his own.

"Rain check?" Dipper murmured sleepily into Wendy's hair, as she nuzzled into his shoulder, her eyes closed, a content smile on her lips.

"I'll hold you to it," she said softly, without opening her eyes.

/

A dusty ray of light filtered through the cabin window, and fell across Dipper's face, waking him. From the angle of the sun, it appeared to be mid-to-late morning, but he wasn't entirely certain—his arm was tucked under the still-sleeping Wendy, and he couldn't reach his phone to see the time without waking her up.

Dipper smiled to himself as he looked at the gorgeous redhead snuggled against him. Her breathing was deep and even, and a small smile still played on her lips. He truly couldn't believe his luck. Of course, he'd daydreamed about similar scenarios for years, but in the back of his mind he'd never really allowed himself to believe that Wendy would ever love him back. The guys she'd dated through the years had all shared a similar air of machismo that Dipper knew he didn't possess. He'd thought the big, muscular, slightly arrogant, bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold boyfriends she'd had were Wendy's 'type.' He was dead chuffed to find out, then, that they were, in fact, not her type, and that _he_ had been her type all along.

Dipper was staring down at Wendy, committing her peaceful, sleeping features to memory, when her eyes fluttered open. She blinked up at him like she was confused for a second, but before Dipper's anxiety had the chance to ramp into overdrive and convince him that she regretted everything she'd told him last night, her mouth formed a brilliant, genuine smile.

"G'mornin,' Dipper," she said, her voice husky with sleep.

"Morning, Wen—wh-okay," said Dipper, surprised as she pulled his face to hers and kissed him deeply. She still tasted faintly of apples. His heart was pounding by the time she pulled away.

"Mmm, what time is it?" she asked, stretching luxuriously, raising her arms over her head, and letting out small, sleepy grunt. Although Wendy was still clothed in her tank-top and jeans, the fluid movements of her lithe body rendered her innocent stretch possibly the sexiest thing Dipper had ever witnessed in person.

Dipper tried to disguise the low moan that escaped his throat with a yawn. He didn't want Wendy thinking he now only saw her as a sexual object. He rolled away from her and grabbed his phone from the nightstand.

"It's a quarter after ten," he said.

"Sweet," said Wendy. She sat up and attempted to run her fingers through her tangled hair, wincing when they caught. She scooted to the edge of the mattress and pushed herself to her feet, heading toward the bathroom.

"Sweet?" Dipper asked, confused. Wendy yawned and flapped a hand at him, then disappeared through the bathroom door. After a moment there was a flush, followed by running water, and she reemerged holding a hairbrush.

"Sorry, had to pee," she said. She sat on the edge of the bed and made to brush her hair, but Dipper placed his hand gently on top of hers.

"Let me," he said, softly.

Wendy relinquished the brush, and scooted back until she was sitting in his lap. "Try not to pull my hair _too_ hard, dude," she said. Dipper couldn't see her face, but he heard the mischief in her voice. He hadn't expected her to sit on his lap, but he certainly wasn't going to ask her not to. As for not pulling her hair too hard—he wasn't sure if that was innuendo or just sounded like it. Dipper chuckled to himself and rolled his eyes at his inner monologue. He finally got the girl, but was still second guessing her intentions toward him. Generalized anxiety disorder: what a bitch.

"So what did you mean by 'sweet?'" he finally asked, as he began pulling the brush through Wendy's hair.

"Oh, I was worried we'd slept later than that, is all. Thought I wouldn't get the chance to show you around the Grove by daylight—but we still have a few hours before we need to head back to the Mystery Shack."

"Huh," Dipper said, pausing mid-brushstroke to untangle a snarl in Wendy's hair with nimble fingers. All those years Mabel made him play dolls with her would not be wasted. "How big is Aislynn's Grove?"

Wendy shrugged. "A couple acres, I guess. Most of it's wooded. The clearing around the cabin and stream is probably about a half-acre."

"I _thought_ I heard running water when we got here last night," Dipper said, continuing to brush, satisfied that he'd defeated the tangle. "Is there a waterfall?"

Wendy nodded. "Yup. Just a little one. My dad dug out a small pool at its base, before it narrows back into a stream."

Dipper huffed. "Why, Wendy Corduroy, do you mean to tell me that you've had access to a _private_ swimming hole all these years, yet you've stooped to using the public pool every summer with the rest of us plebes?"

Wendy scoffed sarcastically and leaned her head back into his chest. "Well where else would I get the chance to see my crush half-naked and soaking wet?"

Dipper sputtered and lifted his hand to brush her hair, but brushed the air next to her head in his distraction. "Heh… I… you...what?"

Wendy giggled and turned in Dipper's lap until she was facing him. She wrapped her legs around his torso and took the hairbrush from his hand, tossing it carelessly to the other side of the bed.

"I told you, dork—I came to the realization that I was attracted to you around the end of your second summer here. Once you'd turned fourteen, every time we hung out together at the pool, I was _totally_ ogling you."

Dipper immediately felt light-headed, although he knew he was no longer under the influence. Wendy was the reason for this feeling.

"O-oh. Well… apparently I was really fucking oblivious?" he said, feeling lost in the depths of her dark green eyes.

Wendy's lips turned up slightly at the corners, and she leaned in to whisper into Dipper's ear: "I know."

Dipper tried to form a coherent thought, but Wendy's hot breath against the skin of his neck and ear sent an error message to his brain. "Heynnngh?" he asked her.

Wendy bit her lower lip and stared at Dipper from under her dark lashes. "Dipper… do you..." she began, before looking down and trailing off, her cheeks tinged pink.

"Do I…?" he prompted, his voice low and intense.

Wendy met his eyes again. "Do you want to go swimming?"

Dipper's brows furrowed. "I mean, I'm not opposed to the idea, but… I didn't bring a bathing suit..."

Wendy blinked slowly, licked her lips, glanced pointedly down at his lap, and then met his eyes once more. "I know. I didn't either."


	6. Chapter 6

Although it was only mid-morning, it was hot out, the air thick with humidity. As Wendy led Dipper out of the cabin by the hand, a bead of sweat trickled from his scalp, down the back of his neck.

"It's a good day for swimming," he remarked.

Wendy nodded. "For sure. After the initial shock, the water will feel amazing."

Dipper pondered her wording as he followed her around the side of the cabin. "What initial shock?"

Wendy turned to him, as single eyebrow raised. "Uh, the shock from jumping into a pool filled by a waterfall from an icy mountain stream?" She gestured behind her.

Dipper glanced over her shoulder at the swimming hole. The waterfall was taller than he had pictured, and it cascaded into the pool with such force that it sent up a sparkling mist, which cast shimmering rainbows in the sunlight.

"It's beautiful," he breathed, then met Wendy's eyes. "How icy, exactly?"

Wendy shook her head and chuckled, turning to continue walking toward the swimming hole as she said, "I've never actually brought a thermometer out here, dude. But _pretty_ fucking cold. I swear, when I first jump in, my nipples get hard enough to cut glass."

Dipper chuckled awkwardly, both aroused at the thought of Wendy's hard nipples, and suddenly self-conscious about the disappearing act he knew his dick would do in such cold water. His anxiety surged, but then he remembered what Wendy had told him earlier, before they'd fallen asleep. He didn't need to be nervous and flustered around her. She knew him better than anybody, and liked him anyway.

As they approached the edge of the swimming hole, Dipper took a deep breath. "So I know we discussed not having bathing suits with us, but," he paused, licking his suddenly dry lips, while sweat ran down his back, "were you planning on us swimming in our skivvies, or are we going full-on skinny-dipping out here?"

Wendy opened her mouth to respond, but Dipper kept talking, unable to stop his embarrassed rambling.

"I-I only ask because if we do swim naked, I f-feel the need to point out that cold water will cause...extensive shrinkage in my...area..." he gestured to his crotch, unable to meet Wendy's eyes. "Just—just so you know that I'm not as, uh, pitifully endowed as I'll appear when I'm cold. Not to imply that I think you won't want me if I don't have a huge d—"

Dipper was grateful when Wendy finally cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips, and murmured, "Shh, dork. Just breathe, okay?"

Dipper closed his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose, then blew the breath out slowly through his mouth. He hadn't realized how lightheaded he'd become. When he finally opened his eyes, Wendy was staring at him, a small smile on her lips.

"Better?" she asked, stepping forward to take Dipper's hands in hers.

Dipper blushed and nodded. "Sorry."

She shook her head. "No need to be sorry, dude. And I get it—this might all be too much right at once. If you don't want to go swimming, that's fine. I don't want you doing anything you're not comfortable with. You're my safe place, Dipper—and I want to be yours."

"You _are_ my safe place, Wendy," he said, his throat tight around the words. "You always have been. I'm… I just… I've wanted you for so long, and I'm terrified that I'll do something or say something that will make you realize I'm not the boyfriend you thought I'd be. Or—God forbid—what if I'm absolute shit at sex?"

Wendy drew Dipper in for a hug, and rubbed his back comfortingly. "Don't think like that, Dip. I've wanted you nearly as long as you've wanted me, remember? You thought your crush was one-sided all these years, but we were totally in a mutual-pining situation. And as for sex? Well, that's the beauty of us both being virgins, dude. Even if our first time doesn't seem spectacular, we'll figure out what the hell we're doing, together. We'll practice." She leaned in further, and whispered in his ear. "We'll practice a _lot_."

Wendy's hot breath against his earlobe, as well as the implications in her words, sent warmth surging through Dipper's veins.

"Mmmph," he said low. "I have to admit, I like the sound of that. After all, practice makes perfect, right?"

Wendy stepped back, grinned at him, and waggled her eyebrows. "Exactly. Now do you want to go swimming, or would you rather not? It's up to you."

Dipper inhaled deeply, and looked his girlfriend up and down. She was wearing her usual outfit: boots, jeans, tank top, and green flannel. His eyes lingered on her chest as he mentally undressed her. He was pleased to see that by the time he met Wendy's eyes again her cheeks had turned a shade of pink that he'd never seen on them before. Had he actually made Wendy Corduroy _blush_?

Wendy stared at him and cocked her head to the side. "Well?"

Dipper's answer was to reach down to the hem of his t-shirt, and pull it up and over his head. He tossed it aside on the grass, and had kicked off his shoes and was unzipping his jeans before Wendy seemed to comprehend what he was doing. Her eyes lit up and she scrambled to unbutton her flannel as Dipper stepped out of his jeans. He turned his back to her and stared down at the pool of clear mountain water. If he thought about the situation too much, he knew his anxiety would try and gain a foothold, and he'd overthink everything again—so he decided not to think. He slid his boxers down, kicked them away from the water, took a deep breath, and jumped in.

The swimming hole was much deeper than Dipper thought, and he nearly gasped from the icy shock to his system as he plunged below the surface. He flailed his arms and legs inelegantly until his head was once again above water.

"H-h-holy f-f-fuck that's cold!" he stammered through chattering teeth. He looked to the edge of the pool where Wendy had been standing, but he realized, with a jolt, that she was gone. "Wendy?" he called out, scanning the empty clearing with wild eyes. "WENDY!?"

Suddenly, the stillness of the water erupted next to Dipper, and Wendy's head popped above the surface, her long, red hair floating around her shoulders.

"Told you it was cold," she said with a cheeky grin, her green eyes sparkling.

A choked sob escaped Dipper's throat, and without thinking about it, he threw himself at Wendy, and hugged her in a fierce embrace, nearly submerging the both of them all over again.

"Well, _hello_ ," Wendy murmured, sounding surprised.

It took Dipper's panic-adrenaline-soaked brain a moment to put her reaction to his hug and the feeling of her soft, warm skin pressed against his. Soft, very warm, smooth skin. Unclothed skin.

"Oh-oh my God, I'm sorry, I didn't think—" he stammered, and attempted to pull away from her. "I didn't realize you'd already jumped in and I didn't see you when I came up for air and I didn't know where you'd gone and I kind of freaked out and MMPH" His rant was cut off at the source, as Wendy kissed him forcefully.

"Dipper," she said breathlessly, as she pulled her mouth from his. "Do you really think I'd suggest going swimming naked together if I _didn't_ want to feel your bare skin against mine? Or wasn't at least okay with the possibility of it happening?" She leaned in toward him and rested her forehead against his. "Listen, closely, dork: I love you, I want you, and I _promise_ that if you ever start to do something I'm not comfortable with, I'll let you know. If I start to do something _you're_ uncomfortable with, I expect you to tell me as well. Don't worry about crossing some arbitrary boundary with me that will suddenly make me hate you. It's not gonna happen. Okay?"

"Okay," Dipper said quietly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to ground himself in the moment using his senses—a trick an old therapist had taught him to fight off anxiety attacks.

There wasn't much to listen for, as the rumble and splash from the waterfall drowned out most other noises. A slight breeze ruffled his hair. It smelled of pine sap, and carried with it the sharp scent of wet rocks, and the earthy aroma of green things growing. The water was frigid, but the initial shock of cold had worn off, especially now that Wendy's body was pressed up against his. Her skin was smooth and warm. Very warm. Her breasts were soft, but firm, against his chest. Her forehead still touched his own, and he could feel the heat of her breath mingling with his. He wondered vaguely if she could feel his heart pounding.

Finally Dipper opened his eyes for the last part of the exercise: he was supposed to visually take in the world around him. He couldn't, however, because all he saw was Wendy. Her level, green gaze. The subtle curve of her upper lip, and the slight pout of her lower lip. The dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose. The faded scar above her left eyebrow that she had gotten two summers ago during a minor dust-up with some angry gnomes. Loose strands of damp, red hair sticking to her cheek.

"Are you okay?" Wendy asked, after Dipper had stared at her wordlessly for a full minute.

He felt the corners of his mouth twitch upward. "You _do_ love me, right?"

Wendy huffed with mock annoyance. "Didn't I just say so, dork? Yes, Dipper. I love you."

Dipper grinned. "In that case, I am quite possibly the 'okayest' that I have ever been."


	7. Chapter 7

Dipper and Wendy floated lazily in the frigid waters of the swimming hole, holding hands so they wouldn't drift apart, the way otters do. Their eyes were closed against the sunlight beaming down on them as they talked quietly about where the future might take them.

"So you really only have two classes left in order to be able to graduate?" Wendy asked.

Dipper sighed. "Yeah. The sad thing is I could have taken them over the summer in order to graduate early, but I didn't want to miss coming up here to see you. If only I'd known that _this_ was going to happen, I might have just done it...so I could move up here to be with you. I know Stan and Ford would let me live rent free at the Mystery Shack, so long as I worked part-time in the gift shop, and was enrolled at GFCC."

"Oh you know that for a fact, do you?" Wendy asked, her smirk reflected in her voice.

"Actually, yeah," Dipper said softly. "Because that's my plan for next year. I've already asked them if I could come live here while I get my first two years of college credits at the community college, before transferring elsewhere to get my bachelor's degree."

Wendy opened her eyes and turned to look at Dipper, frowning. "Community college? Dude, you're Ivy League material and you know it. You have to aim higher!"

Dipper let go of Wendy's hand and faced her, treading water. "And I will—for my bachelor's degree. I mean, maybe not Ivy League, but a good state school. It's just, community college is a _lot_ cheaper than even four-year state universities, and all the prerequisite courses I'd need to take during my freshman and sophomore years are the same as they'd be at a university. Besides, being here means I'll be closer to you."

Wendy blushed. "Well, when you put it that way, I guess I can't complain. It just sucks that you'll have to go back to Piedmont for another year first."

Dipper nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, it does."

A cloud scudding along in the upper atmosphere blocked out the sun, and Dipper shivered involuntarily as the light breeze ruffled the wet hairs on the back of his neck. Wendy's eyebrows drew together in concern.

"Dude, your lips are blue," she said, reaching out to touch them gently. "We should get you inside so you can get a warm shower."

"Oh God, a warm shower sounds heavenly right now," Dipper said, his teeth beginning to chatter, as if his body only just realized the temperature of the water he was treading. Wendy swam to the edge of the pool, but Dipper stayed where he was, staring at the small heap his clothes made, uncertainly. Wendy had been polite enough to avoid looking at his bits and pieces while he was in the cold water, for which he was incredibly grateful. However, he was worried she may try and take a peek when he got out. As if she was reading his thoughts, Wendy spoke up.

"I'll get out first and head back inside."

Wendy hoisted herself onto the bank gracefully just as the cloud overhead finished passing the sun, and it was if a spotlight had been turned onto her. The water dripping from her long hair sparkled like she was shedding diamonds, and shining rivulets ran down her shoulders and the small of her back, sliding quickly over the curves of her tight ass, and down her long, slender legs.

The sight caused a hitch in Dipper's breath, and he blinked rapidly, unsure whether Wendy was okay with him looking at her nude form, since she hadn't explicitly said he could. However, she never said he couldn't, either. Even if he wanted to look away he wouldn't have been able to. He was mesmerized by the absolute perfection in front of him, and in awe that this beautiful creature loved and wanted _him_.

Wendy never turned to face him, but Dipper got an eyeful when, with her legs slightly spread apart, she slowly bent over at the waist, and reached down to pick up her clothes. A low moan escaped his throat. She had to have done that on purpose. Her movements had been so seductively slow and deliberate. She was teasing him. Dipper swallowed hard, feeling a bit lightheaded.

Wendy gathered her clothes in a bundle and held them to her chest, then trotted back across the clearing. Dipper remained in the water, concentrating on the bounce of her taut, round ass with each step she took, until she rounded the corner to the front of the cabin, and was out of sight.

Dipper took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, before swimming to the edge of the pool and climbing out. He slipped on the wet grass when he stooped to pick up his clothes, and nearly fell back into the water, chuckling as he mentally compared his clumsiness with Wendy's graceful movements. Then he groaned, remembering in exquisite detail the view she had given him only moments ago. Although he was covered in goosebumps, a glance down at his growing half-chub told Dipper that the effects of the cold water were wearing off quickly. He held his bundle of clothes at crotch height and made his way back toward the cabin. He was trembling, and not just because he was cold.

When Dipper entered the cabin he deduced, by Wendy's absence in the main room, as well as the sound of running water, that she was already in the shower. He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, still holding his clothes in front of him, unsure of what to do. The heat and steady throb between his legs was strongly lobbying in favor of joining Wendy, but his stupid, anxious brain was attempting to convince him that barging into the shower with her was a sure-fire way to freak her out. After all, she hadn't _said_ he couldn't join her. But she also didn't say he could. Her specific words were "we should get you inside so you can get a warm shower." Did that mean that she _wanted_ to shower with him or not? She'd started the sentence with 'we,' but then said 'you' in reference to the shower.

Dipper stood paralyzed with indecision, a small puddle of cold water forming at his feet. He was rock hard now, almost to the point of aching, but his anxiety was telling him a thousand different ways that his joining Wendy in the shower uninvited could go wrong. His trembling had advanced into full-on shaking, and his knuckles ached from how hard he was gripping his bundle of clothes. He was so deep inside his own head that he was startled into almost dropping his clothes when he heard Wendy speak.

She held the bathroom door open just enough that she could poke her head out. Steam leaked out around her, and her face was bright pink from the warmth of the water.

"The water's gonna get cold if you don't hurry your ass up, dork," she said with a grin. "What, are you waiting on an invitation or something?"

Dipper felt the heat rise in his cheeks _and_ his groin. "Um, yes, actually. I-I wasn't sure if—"

Wendy cut him off, a small smirk on her lips. "Dipper, would you care to join my naked ass in this hot, steamy shower?"

Dipper closed his eyes and swallowed before responding with a quick, "Yes, please." He heard Wendy let out a laugh as she stepped out of the doorway. By the time he had dropped his clothes on the bed and entered the bathroom, she was already back in the shower, and he could see make out her form behind the slightly opaque plastic shower curtain. Dipper took a deep breath before pulling the curtain aside.

His anxiety finally having taken a backseat due to Wendy's explicit consent for him to join her, Dipper let his eyes slowly roam over her body. He'd spent many a lonely evening imagining this moment, but his imagination hadn't done it justice. She was slender and muscular, but not in a weird, sinewy bodybuilder kind of way—her build resembled that of a ballerina, although Dipper knew she'd probably punch him if he ever said so. Her breasts were on the small side, but perky and round. They looked like they'd make a nice handful, and Dipper had to rein himself in—one does not go directly in for a titty squeeze. As inexperienced with physical intimacy as he was, even he knew that. When his eyes finally made it to her face, he was surprised to see her staring down at his dick, her lips parted slightly, and her eyes wide.

"Dipper," she murmured, still staring, as he got into the shower and pulled the curtain closed.

"What?" he asked, closing his eyes and sighing as the hot water cascaded over his head and down his body, finally taking away the chill from the frigid waters of the swimming hole.

"I just-I-I didn't think..." Wendy trailed off.

"Didn't think what?" Dipper opened his eyes and wiped the water from them, so he could see Wendy's facial expression, as her tone and abnormal stammering confused him. "Is something wrong?"

Wendy finally looked up from Dipper's cock to meet his eyes, her face a brilliant shade of red. "Wh-wrong? No! Sorry, with the way you were so nervous about 'shrinkage' before we went swimming, I expected—shit that came out wrong. I mean, I didn't _expect_ , but...you-you're a lot bigger than I imagined."

Dipper grinned and raised an eyebrow at her. Of all the things Wendy could have possibly said, that was by far the best. "Oh, so you've _imagined_ me, have you?"

Wendy's cheeks flushed an even deeper red, and she glanced away. Then she let out a sharp laugh and met Dipper's eyes once again. "Wait, why the fuck am I embarrassed? You're my boyfriend now! Shit, I'm just gonna come out and say it: you do things to me Pines. Thinking about you makes me warm and tingly, and whenever I masturbate, I close my eyes and imagine that it's _your_ hand getting me off."

A pulse of heat made Dipper's cock twitch, as a low moan worked its way up from the pit of his belly. That was the hottest thing he'd ever heard.

"Dipper," Wendy said softly, stepping forward so she was close enough to lean in and whisper in his ear—and close enough that his cock was pressed rigidly up against her flat stomach. "I need you. Please."

"Hnnngh," was all the vocalization Dipper was capable of in response. He wrapped his arms around her and brought his mouth down on hers greedily. All his anxiety about how Wendy _really_ felt about him dissolved into nothing, and a raw, primal instinct took its place.

As he kissed her deeply, Dipper's hands began to roam from her shoulders, exploring the soft curves of Wendy's body. He had been right about her breasts—they were each a perfect handful. He squeezed them gently, worrying one of her nipples with his thumb until the sensitive flesh hardened. Then he pulled his mouth from hers and lowered it down onto the hard nipple, first flicking it with his tongue, then sucking on it gently. A mewling sort of whine seemed to catch in Wendy's throat, as she gripped his hair, tugging at it as he teased her nipple.

"Mmmph, fuck, Dipper," she panted.

"That's the plan," he said low, as he moved his mouth to her other nipple.

Wendy's breath shuddered and she gripped Dipper's hair more tightly. Her knees nearly buckled when one of Dipper's hands made its way down over belly and came to rest on her Venus mons, one finger slipping between the cleft in search of her clitoris. When he found it, she gasped and her knees _did_ buckle. Dipper caught her and she embraced him, laughing softly.

"Sorry 'bout that," she said in his ear. "I just had a thought… seeing as this is new to both of us, maybe we should _not_ try it while standing up in a slippery shower? Perhaps save the shower for later, when we've gained more XP and leveled up?"

Dipper chuckled. "God I love when you talk nerdy to me. And you _do_ make a good point. Are you warmed up enough now? From swimming, I mean."

Wendy nodded. "Are you?"

Dipper pulled away from her so she could see how red his skin was. "I'm downright hot," he said with a grin.

"Hell yeah, you are," Wendy said low, as she reached to shut off the water.

Dipper normally would have blushed at the compliment, but certain parts of his body weren't leaving any blood to spare for facial expressions demonstrating embarrassment.

Wendy stepped out of the shower and grabbed two towels from the towel bar on the wall, handing one back to Dipper. He watched with interest as she leaned forward, flipped her hair to the front, and began vigorously toweling it. Drops of water still glistened on the rest of her body, and Dipper nearly salivated, thinking about licking them off of her.

"You planning on drip-drying, dork?" she asked, one eyebrow raised, as she straightened back up, flipping her now less-wet hair back behind her. She began quickly toweling off the rest of her body, before tossing her towel into a corner and grabbing a hairbrush. She pulled her damp hair back into a sloppy bun, which was a hairstyle she rarely wore.

Dipper began absently drying himself off, still watching Wendy. "You never wear your hair up," he said, as he toweled his own hair off. "Why now?"

Wendy sat the hairbrush on the counter and turned to him, a coy smile on her face. "I didn't want it getting in the way of this," she said. Dipper barely had time to register her words before she dropped to her knees in front of him, encircled the base of his dick with one hand, and swirled her tongue around the head.

"Wh-Wen-I-hnnngh!" Dipper stammered, as she took him gently into her mouth—just the tip at first—and moved her head slowly, taking just a bit more of him into her mouth at a time. Dipper's eyes nearly rolled back in his head with the amount of pleasure she was giving him. Her mouth was hot and wet, her lips and tongue soft. Everything seemed to tighten a bit, and Dipper nearly came when he looked down and realized why. Wendy's mouth was moving back and forth at the very base of his cock. She was deep-throating him. When she looked up at him seductively, her eyes were watering with the effort of it, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Dipper couldn't hold it back. The look she'd given him, her mouth full of his cock, her eyes watering from how much of him she was taking in—he fucking exploded.

"Mmm...hhhnnnngh...Wendy I—fuck! _Fuck!_ " he panted, as he filled the surprised Wendy's mouth with more cum than he thought his body was capable of producing. The world around him went dark for a moment, and he leaned over to clutch the edge of the counter, lightheaded and short of breath.

There was a gentle tug on his dick that made Dipper groan both from how oversensitive his cock now was, and how hot it was. Hot, because Wendy was still sucking. She'd swallowed everything, like a champ.

"I...need to sit down now," Dipper said faintly. Wendy pulled away from his dick with an audible slurp, wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, and stood up, as Dipper sank down onto the closed toilet lid. He looked up at her, unsure of what to say. His brain was having a difficult time processing language. Finally he went with, "You're amazing, Wendy. I'm—that was—I can't—just—oh my God."

Wendy's eyes sparkled as she smiled down at him. "I'll go grab you a glass of water, and I expect you to get your ass in bed. We've only just begun, Dipper."

Dipper felt a twitch of life between his legs at her words, and a dopey grin spread across his face as he watched Wendy turn and walk away. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, sighing softly.

"Best. Birthday. Ever."


	8. Chapter 8

Dipper stumbled from the bathroom, still lightheaded from the intensity of his orgasm. He fell back onto the bed so he was lying across it horizontally, his legs dangling over the side at the knees, his arms splayed above his head. Wendy had said they'd only just begun, and while Dipper was totally on board with continuing their amorous activities, he was going to need a little bit of time before before he was fully up to the task again.

"Sit up for a minute and drink this, dork," Wendy said, approaching the bed and nudging his shin with her foot.

Dipper groaned, but did as he was told. He took the glass of water from Wendy and gulped its contents down in one go. He hadn't even realized he was thirsty.

"Thanks," he said, handing the glass back to her. "You're amazing." While he looked her in the eye as he talked, he couldn't help but let them roam over her nude form as she turned and sashayed to place the glass in the kitchenette's sink.

"So you've told me," she said, making her way back over to him, her hips swaying with each step. "Like, less than five minutes ago." She laid next to him, and beckoned for him to lie down as well.

He complied, and grinned when he turned his head and realized they were nose to nose. "And I'll continue to say it, because it's true. I'm half expecting to wake up and find this has all been a _very_ vivid dream."

Wendy chuckled. "Well, I promise you it's not—but if it _was_ , you'd wake up to some extremely messy sheets."

"Mmmhmm, I don't deny that," Dipper said leaning up on one elbow so he could look down at her. He caressed Wendy's cheek with the back of his other hand, and let the hand continue its downward trajectory as he kept talking. "The question now is, if roles were reversed, and it was _you_ having the vivid dream...would you have messy sheets to clean up as well?" His fingers had trailed over her breast and the quivering skin of her stomach, coming to rest at the cleft between her legs.

Wendy let out a soft gasp as Dipper gently probed the crevasse with a finger, and a louder gasp as he found the small treasure he was looking for. He slid the finger down some, skimming the tight hole of her pussy with it, delighted to find the entire area slick with her arousal. He brought some of that natural lubricant back up, and began rubbing her clit with it, bringing another finger into the mix to join the first, swirling around and teasing the sensitive flesh.

Dipper watched the rise and fall of Wendy's chest becoming more frantic, her breasts jiggling slightly with each breath. While he continued to work on her clit, he brought his mouth down on one of her enticing, pink nipples, licking it until it was stiff, and then sucking on it lightly. Wendy was making a strained noise from somewhere in her throat, and began bucking her hips against the fingers on her clit. Dipper glanced up and smiled when he realized that her eyes were closed in pleasure, and she was tightly grabbing fistfuls of the bed sheets.

"Are you close, Wendy?" he murmured, kissing her collarbone.

"Mmmhmmph," Wendy panted. "Please." Their was a desperate urgency to her voice that Dipper had never heard before. "Dip—I—don't—don't stop, oh God, oh fuck! Hah! Hah! Hnnnggh!"

It was as if every muscle in Wendy's body tensed at once. Her thighs clamped tightly around Dipper's hand, her back arched, and her lower legs, which had been dangling off the side of the bed, straightened out in front of her. Her toes even curled.

Dipper immediately stopped rubbing her clit, and pulled his hand back from between her legs. He watched, wide-eyed, as Wendy writhed against the sheets, hoping that she was just having a very intense orgasm, and not some kind of seizure. She finally seemed to relax, although she was still breathing heavily, and the muscles of her taut stomach would twitch every couple of seconds.

"Wen?" he questioned softly, touching the side of her face. Her cheeks were bright red, and her forehead was damp with perspiration. Slowly her eyelids fluttered open, and she met Dipper's gaze with slightly glazed green eyes.

"Goddammit, Dipper," she said, sounding more resigned than mad. "Now that I know you can do _that_ to me, I _really_ don't want you to leave for Piedmont tomorrow."

Dipper let out a small sigh of relief. "So it was good?"

"Good?!" Wendy laughed. "Dipper, I just about had an out-of-body experience."

Dipper quirked an eyebrow. "I take it that means you're not up for more fun just yet?" he asked, with a pointed look down at his, once again, rock hard cock.

Wendy smirked, and shook her head. "Sorry lover boy, not just yet." She sat up and scooted back against the pillows, motioning Dipper to join her. "Lets cuddle under the blankets for a little bit, first. We still have awhile until we need to head back for your birthday party, so there's no rush."

Dipper heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Fine," he grumbled good-naturedly, as he situated himself next to Wendy against the pillows. "Make me _cuddle_ with you."

Wendy pulled the comforter over the both of them and curled up next to Dipper, resting her head on his chest. "You know you like it," she murmured sleepily against his skin.

Dipper nestled closer against her and kissed the top of her head. "You're right. I really do."

/

_Don't stop un-believing!_

_Never don't not feel your feelings!_

Dipper blinked blearily and sat up, disoriented. He reached out to locate his ringing cellphone, which normally sat on his bedside table. Instead of his phone, however, his hand landed on something soft and warm. Wendy. They'd apparently both fallen asleep after bringing each other to orgasm, even though they hadn't actually 'done the deed' yet, as it were.

_Don't stop un-believing!_

_Never don't not feel your feelings!_

"Ugh, Dipper, turn your alarm off," Wendy groaned, throwing an arm over her face.

"That's not my alarm, it's Mabel's ringtone," Dipper said, as he scooted off the bed to grab his phone from the heap of clothing he'd unceremoniously dropped in the middle of the floor as soon as Wendy had asked him to join her in the shower. "I wonder what she wants?" He bent over to pick the phone up just as it went to voicemail. Then he noticed the time displayed on his home screen. "Oh, shit. Oh God, she's gonna _kill_ me." He immediately stooped and collected his clothes from the floor.

Wendy leaned up on an elbow and squinted at Dipper. "What are you talking about, dork? Why are you getting dressed? I'm totally not done with you yet."

Dipper glanced up at her apologetically as he hopped on one leg, attempting to pull on his jeans. "Unfortunately, you're gonna have to be. For now, at least. It's five-thirty, Wendy. Me and Mabel's eighteenth birthday party was supposed to start at _five_!"

Wendy finally seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation. "Shit!" She shot out of bed and began getting dressed next to Dipper. "Goddammit, I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean to fall asleep."

Dipper shook his head. "Not your fault." Then he grinned, he cheeks warm. "Well—half your fault." He yanked his t-shirt over his head, then sat on the edge of the bed to pull his socks on.

"I'm disappointed we didn't even get to the main event," Wendy said glumly, as she buttoned her jeans. "I'd hoped—"

Dipper cut her off. "You're disappointed? Well that sucks, because I'm fucking ecstatic!" He chuckled as he finished tying his shoes. "In the last...I dunno, less than twenty-four hours, I not only found out that girl of my dreams loves me as much as I love her, but we also went skinny dipping together, then showered naked together...and both got each other off. In the immortal words of Ice Cube: 'It was a good day.'"

Wendy snorted. "Did you really just—"

Finally fully dressed, Dipper turned to her and crossed his arms over his chest, a grin spread across his face. "So what if I did?"

Wendy finished lacing her boots, and pulled on her flannel. "God, I love you, dork," she said, reaching out to pull him in for a kiss.

Dipper groaned as he felt her hot tongue sweep across his. The sweetness of her lips was practically begging him to rip her clothes off and throw her back down on the bed.

_Don't stop un-believing!_

_Never don't not feel your feelings!_

"Ugh," Dipper groaned, pulling the phone from his pocket. Before he could answer it, however, Wendy grabbed it from his hand and accepted the call.

"Hey Mabel," she said casually. There was a shrill screech from the other end of the line, and Wendy held the phone away from her ear until the screech subsided. "Yeah, I know we're late, I—yeah, sorry. It's totally my fault. We're on our way though. We'll be there in about a half hour… Yeah. Uh-huh… Yeah, you were right, he was _totally_ oblivious. Uh-huh. Well you'll just have to ask him that, won't you?" She laughed, while making eye contact with Dipper and waggling her eyebrows. "Yeah. We will. See you soon. Okay. Bye."

She held the phone out, and Dipper took it, frowning. "Thanks for taking the full blame and all, but a half hour? It took us _at least_ an hour and a half to walk here."

"Well, I kind of took us the long way last night," Wendy admitted, a small smirk on her lips. "I have a four-wheeler parked on the side of the cabin you haven't seen yet—and there's a nice, clear trail between Aislynn's Grove and my house that only takes about twenty-five minutes on an ATV."

Dipper blinked at her, as what she'd said sunk in. "You—you made me stumble through the woods in the dark just because you wanted to hold my hand, didn't you?" he accused.

Wendy shrugged, trying to suppress a smile. "What can I say? I know you have horrible night-vision, and I also knew you were pretty oblivious to how I felt about you. I needed to break that physical contact barrier somehow."

Dipper smiled up at her from under his lashes. "Well, I'd say it's finally good and broken."

Wendy bit her lower lip and nodded. "Not completely… But close enough. For now." She grabbed Dipper's hand and led him toward the door. "However, Mabel will carve us _both_ up with her Exacto knife if we don't get to your party soon."

Dipper sighed, and let himself be led from the cabin. His mind was racing, trying to come up with scenarios in which he and Wendy might be able to have a decent amount of alone time again before he and Mabel had to leave for Piedmont in the morning.

Now that Dipper knew Wendy felt the same way about him as he felt about her, he desperately wanted to feel his cock shoved deep inside her. From her reaction to his ministrations earlier, she wanted to feel it to. And he was going to make sure it happened, tonight. One way or another.


	9. Chapter 9

Wendy drove the four-wheeler back to the Mystery Shack, while Dipper sat behind her, pressed as close against her back as he could get, his arms wrapped tightly around her torso. He wasn't the biggest fan of four-wheeling, although Wendy had taken him on rides before. For the entirety of the ride, Dipper was torn between his arousal for Wendy, and his fear of falling off the back of the ATV.

Dipper's naughty thoughts apparently won out without him realizing, because when Wendy stopped the four-wheeler in the crowded parking lot in front of the Mystery Shack, she rubbed her ass against his very obvious boner and let out an uncharacteristic giggle.

"You might want to, uh, tuck that into your waistband or something before we go inside," she said as she dismounted from the ATV.

Dipper felt the heat rise in his cheeks. He maneuvered himself off of the ATV, then turned away from Wendy and the Mystery Shack as he adjusted his hard-on so as to not be glaringly obvious. He turned back to Wendy and smiled sheepishly.

"Can you still tell?" he asked, nodding down to his pants.

Wendy chuckled. "Well, I can see the outline of it, but that's because I'm looking for it. Just don't thrust your crotch in anyone's face and you'll be fine."

Dipper grinned and shook his head, adjusting his pants once more as he followed Wendy toward the entrance of the Mystery Shack. As they neared the door he heard the thump of bass, a sure indicator that the party was already well under way. Wendy pulled the door open, and ushered Dipper in before her.

"Birthday boy gets to go first," she said with a wink.

Dipper rolled his eyes, but sauntered inside. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he shifted his boner slightly, feeling incredibly self-conscious.

"DIPPER!"

He barely had time to register his twin sister's screech before Mabel came out of nowhere and tackle-hugged him to the ground. He fell back against his elbows as he tried to quickly extricate his hands from his pockets.

"Hey Mabes," he said, weakly. He was finally (and awkwardly) able to disempocket his hands, and hug her back. "Sorry we're late. We, uh, lost track of the time," he added, with a glance up at Wendy, who shot him a conspiratorial wink and grin.

Mabel smirked. "What— or _who—_ was it that had your attention so occupied that you would be late for your _very own_ eighteenth birthday party?" She stood up and dusted off her skirt, then held a hand out and hoisted Dipper to his feet.

"Like you don't know," Dipper muttered.

Mabel chuckled. "I told you he was completely oblivious," she directed at Wendy. Facing Dipper once again, she clasped her hands together and asked, "So when's the wedding?"

Dipper rolled his eyes, and pushed past his sister. Not that he didn't want to eventually marry Wendy. He was just still getting used to the idea that she loved him as much as he loved her. He turned to look behind him, and saw Mabel grab Wendy's arm and pull her into a corner, her mouth moving more quickly than Dipper could lip read. He sighed and shook his head, wandering in the direction of the DJ booth.

"Hey Dawg!" Soos said, nodding to Dipper as he fiddled with the knobs on his turntable. "I heard you and Wendy finally got together!" He grinned and gave Dipper two thumbs up. Dipper smiled and nodded, before awkwardly shuffling away. He really wasn't keen on discussing his brand new relationship with people. Honestly, he wasn't even really one-hundred percent certain that he wasn't dreaming.

As the afternoon turned to evening, Dipper mingled amongst his and Mabel's party guests, making small-talk and nodding enthusiastically at everyone, even though the music was so loud that he could barely hear what anyone was actually saying to him. Every few songs, Mabel or Wendy would drag him out onto the dance floor, where he attempted to not completely humiliate himself.

After awhile, Dipper was yawning and wishing the party would just be over. He wanted to spend his last few hours in Gravity Falls for the summer with Wendy, and only Wendy. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time, then sighed. It was only 8:30. Mabel's parties were known to sometimes last until the wee hours of the morning. The thought that he would be saying goodbye to Wendy in less than twelve hours made Dipper feel sick.

Sick. Dipper nearly facepalmed at how obvious the solution to his conundrum was. The perfect way to excuse himself from the party was to feign illness. He scanned the room for Wendy, who was over by the refreshment table, talking to Tambry.

Dipper approached the girls with an apologetic smile aimed at Tambry. "Can I borrow Wendy real quick?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure. It's your party," she said with a shrug, barely looking up from her phone.

"Hey loverboy," Wendy said with a grin, waggling her eyebrows at him.

Dipper felt his cheeks flush as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Can you meet me in the gift shop in five minutes?" he asked.

Wendy pulled back to look at his face. "Is everything okay?"

Dipper bit his lower lip and tried to give her what he hoped was a sexy stare from under his eyelashes. "Five minutes?"

Wendy cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side, then nodded. "Gift shop. Five."

"Good," Dipper murmured, before turning and making a beeline for his sister, who was dancing in a circle with Candy, Grenda, and Pacifica.

"Hey Dip!" Mabel cried, reaching out to yank her brother into the circle. She frowned when she realized Dipper hadn't started dancing. "What gives, party pooper?"

Dipper took a deep breath, and made an attempt to look poorly. "Mabes, I'm not feeling so good. I think I need to turn in for the evening."

"But we haven't even done cake or presents!" Mabel protested, her lower lip jutting out.

Dipper frowned. "At eighteen, aren't we a little old for cake and presents at our birthday parties?"

Mabel folded her arms over her chest and glowered at her brother. "Nobody, at _any_ age, is too old for cake and presents at their birthday party."

"Okay, okay, sorry," Dipper said, holding his hands up and taking a step back from his obviously peeved sister. "Still, I'm really not feeling good, Mabel. You do the cake and presents. You can even open mine, if you want. But I need to—I'm feeling..." He took a deep breath. "I have diarrhea." He hoped the ick factor would keep Mabel from complaining any more. He was surprised, then, when she tossed her head back and laughed.

"Oh my God, you're an _actual_ party pooper!" she cried loudly, nearly shedding tears of mirth. "Okay, shoo. Go," she said, flapping a hand at him. "Away with you now. Don't poop at our party!"

Dipper smiled at his twin sister through gritted teeth. "Thanks for your understanding." Then he turned and hurried toward the door that led to the gift shop, knowing full well that by the end of the night, everyone at the party was going to know about Dipper's 'party poops.' Normally something like that would have mortified him, but not tonight. Because Wendy would know the truth, and she was the only person who's opinion he gave a damn about right now.

/

"Hey, you okay?"

Dipper had been leaning over the gift shop counter on his elbows, and he jerked upright at Wendy's voice, startled.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Wendy said with a small smile. "But _you_ were the one who asked _me_ to meet you here." She approached Dipper at the counter and took his hand. "Mabel caught me before I could sneak out and told me you were having 'digestive issues.' What's wrong?"

Dipper grinned sheepishly, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, that was a lie. I couldn't think of any other way to be able to leave the party early without upsetting Mabel, so I told her I wasn't feeling well."

"Why'd you want to leave early?" Wendy asked, her eyebrows drawing together. "Weren't you having fun?"

Dipper raised a brow and quirked a half-smile. "C'mon, Wen—you know I'm not much for parties even under normal circumstances. I just want to spend as much time with you as I can before I leave in the morning." Those last few words caught in his throat. It was painful enough to leave Gravity Falls after every summer when Wendy was only his best friend, and now she was so, so much more than that.

"Hey, come here," Wendy murmured, pulling Dipper against her in a tight hug. "Let's not think about that right now. Let's live in the moment."

Dipper leaned into the hug, and rested his head on Wendy's shoulder, his face pressed into her neck. He inhaled her scent deeply, trying to commit it to memory, then placed his lips gently on the jumping pulse point at the base of her neck. Her heart was pounding. He heard a hitch in her breath as he traced his lips up the curve of her neck until he reached her ear.

"Let's go out on the roof," he whispered. He felt Wendy's body tremble slightly against him as she nodded her head.

/

The fading light of day illuminated the Mystery Shack and surrounding forest and mountains in hues of pink and orange, a warm, honeyed light seeming to cast its glow on everything—even the air itself. As he watched Wendy rise through the hatch in the roof, Dipper had to remind himself to breathe. The way her sheet of red hair caught the colors of the sunset dazzled him, and the hazy, golden light on her skin made him think that she must be what angels aspire to look like.

After closing the hatch behind her, Wendy turned and sank down next to Dipper on the cedar shingles of the roof, their legs dangling over the side. They sat in companionable silence for awhile, simply holding hands and staring out at the forest. Finally, Dipper let out a low chuckle.

Wendy nudged him in the ribs with an elbow. "What's funny, dork?"

He turned his head to grin at her. "I was just thinking about how we made the pact on this very spot, pretty much exactly four years ago. And about how fourteen-year-old me would react if I could pop back to then and tell him what is going to happen on his eighteenth birthday."

Wendy laughed. "Honestly, you'd probably act the exact same as you did today, only even more nervous and flustered."

Dipper smiled down at his hands, his cheeks warm. "You give past me too much credit. I'd probably have peed my pants, or immediately gotten a boner that I would've desperately tried, and failed, to hide."

Wendy pulled her hand from his grasp and settled it on the long bulge straining against the fabric covering his right upper thigh. Amusement apparent in her voice, she said, "You're not trying to hide _this_ ," and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Dipper closed his eyes and blew out a breath. "Well, I'm not fourteen anymore, so..." He grinned at Wendy and shrugged, then inhaled sharply as she ran her hand up and down the length of the bulge.

"Wendy," he said low, his voice quavering as he looked up at her from under his lashes. "I don't care if Mabel is pissed at me… I want to go back out to Aislynn's Grove and spend my last night in Gravity Falls with you. Inside of you. Please."

Wendy's face turned a deep shade of pink in the dying light of the sun. She leaned in toward Dipper until her forehead was resting against his, her breath hot against his mouth as she murmured, "I was hoping you'd say that."


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sex.

Dipper and Wendy avoided running into any party-goers by leaving through the gift shop exit. They hurried off on Wendy’s four-wheeler, making a quick pit-stop at a convenience store for snacks and drinks, as they’d already mostly demolished the cider Wendy had stocked at Aislynn’s Grove. When they finally arrived back at the cabin, it was fully dark out.

“Should I turn on the generator, or should we just light the candles again?” Wendy asked, as she dismounted the ATV and pulled off her helmet.

Dipper shrugged, handing her the plastic bag he’d been holding before he clumsily rolled off the back of the four-wheeler. “Well, we just got the drinks, so they’re still cold. I’m good with candles if you are.”

He couldn’t see her face in the darkness of the forest clearing, but Dipper could hear the smile in her voice when she said, “Candles it is. More romantic, anyway.”

Dipper nearly jumped when she reached out and took his hand, pulling him toward the front door of the cabin. The barest thread of anxiety was still hanging on in the back of his mind that this had to be some elaborate joke. He shook his head, as if trying to fling his doubts out his ear-holes. This was real. Wendy loved him, and wanted him, apparently as much as he wanted her. And he was about to get her. All of her.

At that thought, a giddy laugh bubbled up from Dipper’s chest. Wendy pushed the cabin door open, then held it for Dipper.

“What’s so funny, dude?” she asked, elbowing him playfully after she shut the door. She crossed the small cabin and sat the plastic bag on the kitchenette counter, then opened a drawer to pull out a lighter. “I feel out of the loop.”

“Nothing’s _funny_ , per se,” Dipper said, his eyes trailing Wendy’s form as she brought light to the room, one candle at a time. “I’m just… I’m happy. Hell, ‘happy’ doesn’t even seem to be a strong enough word for the emotion I’m feeling right now. I’m _actually living_ my wildest dreams. You know how I am—I never really dared hope—”

Wendy had finished lighting the candles, so she cut him off with a finger to his lips. “You’re rambling,” she whispered, her nose crinkling as she grinned at him.

Dipper brought his hand up and held her finger in place against his mouth. He gazed down at her, only now coming to the realization that Wendy was actually the shorter of the two by a good three inches. He’d never really registered their height difference. What with the muscle Dipper had put on from boxing, he almost certainly weighed more than her now, as well. He felt a sudden protective instinct bloom to life in his chest, knowing that he would absolutely fight to the death to keep Wendy safe. Of course, Wendy was perfectly capable of protecting herself. She could definitely kick his ass, no question about it. But it still felt good to be in a position to be able to physically take care of her if she needed him to.

Wendy quirked a half-smile and raised an eyebrow at Dipper’s prolonged silence. “You know, I wasn’t intending to shut you up for real, Dip.”

Dipper let go of her finger. “I know,” he said, chuckling as she booped him on the nose before pulling her hand away. “I was in my head, but not in an anxious way. I was just thinking about how I’d do anything for you.”

Wendy bit her lower lip and looked at him seductively from under her eyelashes. “Anything?”

Dipper’s jeans were suddenly significantly tighter in the crotch. He took a shaky breath, his heart pounding. “Anything,” he whispered, pulling Wendy against him and pressing his lips down hard against hers.

Wendy moaned against his mouth, grinding her pelvis into his. She wound her fingers through his hair, and pulled away from his kisses to bring her face up next to his ear.

“Dipper,” she murmured, her breath hot against his skin. “I want you to make love to me. Please,” she added, with a tone of quiet desperation that sent shockwaves down his spine, and a surge of heat into his core.

With a low moan, Dipper swept Wendy off her feet, and carried her over to the bed, setting her down gently on the edge of the mattress. He knelt at the bedside and unlaced and removed her boots and socks, while she slowly undid the buttons on her green flannel, before tossing it aside. He watched hungrily as she peeled off her white tank-top, revealing a simple black bra underneath.

“God, you’re gorgeous,” he breathed. The warm candlelight cast a soft glow over her curves, giving her pale skin an almost golden hue. Still on his knees, Dipper leaned forward and began peppering Wendy’s torso with kisses. He reached around her and fumbled with the catch on the back of her bra. After a few moments with no luck, he looked up at Wendy and grinned sheepishly. “Can I get an assist?”

Wendy bit back a laugh and had her bra off in about two seconds. “Better?” she teased, tossing the undergarment over Dipper’s head, where it landed somewhere on the floor.

Dipper’s answer was to stand up quickly, push her back down onto the mattress, and straddle her legs. Her breasts jiggled gently as she fell back against the comforter, and Dipper licked his lips. “Better,” he murmured, then lowered his body over top of hers, bringing his mouth down onto one of her puffy, pink nipples, while he gently teased the other with his fingers.

Wendy writhed beneath him, making little mewling sounds of pleasure, and every so often, bucking her hips upward against his groin. She still had her jeans on, and Dipper hadn’t undressed at all yet, but he could feel the heat of her through the multiple layers of fabric between them, and he ached to bury himself deep inside her—to feel that warmth engulf him, grip him, squeeze him, and milk him of every last drop of cum. The thought made Dipper shudder, and he had to rest his face in the valley between Wendy’s breasts and breathe deeply to calm himself. He was worried enough about getting off too quickly once inside her. It would be another level of humiliating altogether if he creamed his boxers simply from some over the pants action.

“You okay, dork?” Wendy asked softly, running her fingers through Dipper’s hair. She sounded calm, but he could feel her heart pounding against her sternum, and hear the rapid cadence it produced with his ear resting against her chest.

Dipper blew out a breath and lifted his head to smile up at Wendy. “Yeah, I’m good.” He pushed himself off of her, and stood, staring down at her with a lopsided grin, his fists planted on his hips. “Now how about we take care of this annoying pants situation?”

Wendy chuckled. “Yours or mine?”

Dipper shrugged, and with a wink, asked, “Por que no los dos?”

Wendy waggled her eyebrows at him. “I like your thinking, kid. But why don’t you get rid of the rest of your clothes, as well?”

Dipper had already kicked off his shoes, and began to pull his shirt off. With his head stuck inside it, he said, “I’ll have you remember, madam, that as of 9:07 this morning, I am a full-fledged _adult_.” He felt himself jerked forward, as Wendy began working on the button and zipper of his pants.

When Dipper had fully extricated himself from his t-shirt and threw it aside, Wendy grinned up at him and began to slide his pants down, her fingers hooked into the waistband of his boxers so that both garments came off as one.

“Oh, trust me, Dipper, I’m aware. I’ve been looking forward to you becoming a legal adult for a long, long time,” she said low, watching his erection spring up with a heavy bounce when the fabric restraining it was pulled down. She let gravity drop his pants the rest of the way, and licked her lips slowly, reaching out to wrap her hand around his throbbing cock.

Dipper inhaled sharply, closed his eyes, and swallowed hard, as she teasingly trailed her fingers over his cock, while licking at and kissing the tip.

“W—hnnnngh—Wendy,” he panted, as she took him into her mouth. “I, uh, it’s not that I don’t want you to do that, but if you do, uh, do that, I might not last until the main event. And I’m _really_ looking forward to the main event.”

Wendy pulled her mouth away and grinned up at him. “Oh, I am too.”

She laid back on the bed and stretched luxuriously, before beginning to unbutton and unzip her own jeans. She arched her back to raise her ass enough that she could slide the jeans down her upper thighs. Dipper grabbed at the pants legs and pulled them the rest of the way off of her once they were past her knees. The only thing she still had on was a pair of simple black panties that matched the bra she’d been wearing. She began to slide them off as well, but Dipper had a different idea.

“Wait,” he said, kneeling at the bedside once again. Wendy’s legs were on either side of him, and he hooked his hands behind both her knees, pulling her forward so that her ass hung over the side of the bed ever so slightly. He settled her legs over his shoulders, and leaned his face in toward the damp crotch of her panties, closing his eyes as he inhaled the intoxicating, musky aroma of her sex. He placed a soft kiss on the sodden fabric covering her slit, and felt a surge of hot blood through his cock at the hitch he heard in Wendy’s breath. He smiled to himself, and proceeded to slowly pull Wendy’s panties off of her.

Wendy didn’t have a ‘bush,’ but rather, a covering of neatly trimmed red fuzz atop her venus mons. She apparently shaved the rest of it, because her lips were smooth, and pouted at Dipper invitingly. He obliged them with another soft kiss, then slid his tongue between them. God, she tasted amazing, and she was so, so wet. He lapped upward until he found the swollen little nub of flesh that caused Wendy to shudder and whimper when he made contact with it. He swirled his tongue around it, and sucked on it to gauge Wendy’s reaction. When he glanced upward, his view, past her taut stomach, was her chest rising and falling rapidly, her breasts gently bouncing in time to her breathing.

With the knowledge that his ministrations were having the intended effect, he ducked his head back down began and licking and sucking on her clit in earnest.

“Di-ip...mmmph…juh...hnnnngh,” Wendy panted. She bucked her hips rhythmically against Dipper’s face, her back arching off the bed. “Guh! Fffuck, oh, shit,” she moaned. Dipper lifted his head to see that she was clinging to fistfuls of the comforter, her knuckles white.

“N-no, don’t stop,” she whimpered. “Please.”

Dipper groaned, as her begging sent a lightning bolt of want through his body. He ducked his head back down and continued licking and sucking her clit at the same pace as before, desperate to get her off soon. He’d read somewhere that most women don’t cum from penetrative sex alone, so he wanted to make sure she was completely satisfied before he got his, but the heat in his groin was pleading with him to be selfish for once in his life. He decided, however, that making love with the girl of his dreams for the first time was not the appropriate moment to suddenly behave selfishly. Besides, it wasn’t like he wasn’t enjoying himself.

Wendy seemed to really be enjoying herself as well. The bucking of her hips was becoming more frenzied, and her thighs were beginning to tighten around Dipper’s head. The noises she was making no longer resembled words, but were instead a series of panting, mewling, grunts. Finally, as had happened with her first orgasm earlier in the day, her whole body seemed to tense up at once, her legs straightening at the knee so they were pointed toward the kitchenette. Her thighs clamped around Dipper’s head as she stopped bucking her hips completely, and just pressed her pussy against his mouth with as much force as possible.

Whereas she had been able to pant out a few words when she came earlier, this time, nothing out of her mouth was intelligible. A moan seemed to roll up from the pit of her belly, and combine with a scream of pleasure that sounded almost as if it ended in sobbing. When the vise-like grip of her thighs around Dipper’s head finally loosened, he pulled back and stood up, wanting to see just what he’d done to his girlfriend.

Wendy’s eyes were closed, and her face was nearly as red as her hair, a slight sheen of sweat on her forehead. Even her neck and chest were flushed well beyond their normal milky shades. She lay back, panting, one hand tangled in the sheets above her head, the other still gripping the comforter with white knuckles. The best part about this view of her, however, Dipper thought, was the small smile of satisfaction that played on her lips.

Dipper sat down on the bed next to her. “So, did I do okay?” he asked, already aware of the answer, but wanting to hear it from her.

Wendy inclined her head in what could generously be called a nod, her eyes still shut as she said, “Can’t...make...words...”

Dipper leaned over to kiss her forehead, and when he pulled away, Wendy’s eyes were open and she giggled slowly, like she was high.

Dipper’s raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Wendy raised a limp hand to her face and pointed in a circle around her mouth. “You, uh, got a little something...” She trailed off with another giggle as he touched his chin and realized it was glazed with Wendy’s slippery juices.

The discovery startled a laugh out of Dipper. “I’m gonna go wash my face,” he said, standing. “And then, hopefully...main event? I mean… if you’re not too—”

Wendy propped herself up on an elbow and interrupted him. “Not at all. After what you just did to me, I’m gonna fuck you ‘til you can’t see straight.”

A low moan caught in Dipper’s throat, and his cock twitched. “That’s-that sounds like a good plan,” he stammered. He heard Wendy chuckle behind him as he pushed the bathroom door open.

After quickly washing his face using liquid hand soap and the edge of one of the towels from earlier, Dipper took a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror. He was about to lose his v-card to the girl he’d loved since he was twelve years old. And she had waited for him, so he was her first as well. Everything had been amazing so far, and he knew that the feel of her tight pussy gripping his cock would be the single most pleasurable sensation in his life. Then a thought hit him, and his stomach dropped.

“Protection,” he said, his throat tightening around the word as he came out of the bathroom.

Wendy, still sprawled out on the bed, frowned at him and sat up. “Dude, I’m a virgin and you said you were too—so, we’re both clean.”

Dipper swallowed and shook his head. “Babies,” was all he could manage to say.

“You don’t want me to have your babies?” Wendy said, a small pout forming on her mouth.

The idea of getting Wendy pregnant actually turned him on, sending a rush of heat to his already nearly-painful erection.

“Someday, yeah,” Dipper said, trying to ignore the throbbing in his cock. Maybe Wendy would at least suck him off again. “But not yet.”

Wendy looked down at her hands sadly, and Dipper felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. Wendy had never given him any hints that she would want kids right away. Had she? Oh, God, now her shoulders were shaking. Had he made her cry?

“Wendy,” he said softly, sitting down on the bed next to her, and taking her hand. Wendy raised her head to look at him, and he realized she hadn’t been crying. She was laughing. The knot of anxiety that had begun building up in Dipper’s stomach released, and he took a deep breath.

“You were totally fucking with me,” he said evenly. It was a statement, not a question.

Wendy nodded. “I was _totally_ fucking with you, dork,” she said, her eyes bright with mirth. “I’m on the pill, Dipper. Have been since I was fourteen. For ‘lady issues,’” she explained, making a face at that last bit.

“Well, you know what that means,” Dipper said, a smile creeping onto his face.

“Mmm, no, I don’t think I do,” Wendy said, smiling blandly, and tilting her head to the side.

Without warning, Dipper launched himself at her, pushing her back against the pillows, and climbing over top of her to straddle her on his knees. “It means,” he said low, “that now _I_ get to fuck with _you_.”

Wendy took a shuddering breath and whispered, “Yes, please,” before reaching up and twining her fingers through Dipper’s tousled brown hair, and pulling him down against her, their lips meeting in a frenzied kiss.

Dipper groaned into Wendy’s mouth as his cock pressed into her flat, lower belly. Her skin was so hot, and her kisses were so inviting. Her hips bucked upward, her pelvis grinding into him. His cock had already been slick at the tip with pre-cum, and it smeared onto her skin, providing a bit of lubrication as they moved against each other. He didn’t think he would last long once he was inside her, but if she kept bucking against him like she was, he was worried he wouldn’t even get to make it that far.

“Wendy,” he breathed, pulling away from her so he could see her face. Her half-open eyes were glazed with lust, and her lips looked almost swollen. “Are you ready for me to—”

She cut him off with a finger to his lips for the second time this evening. “I am _so_ ready,” she said. “I want you inside me, Dipper Pines.”

“Hnnngh,” was all Dipper was able to manage in response. Every time he thought she couldn’t possibly turn him on more than he already was, she proved him wrong.

Dipper scooted down her body until his cock was between her legs, then leaned back on one hand, so he could look down and try and position himself correctly. The tip of his dick was practically weeping pre-cum as he pressed it against Wendy’s pouting crevasse. He let out a sharp breath when Wendy reached down and put her hand around his cock, to help guide him in. He pushed through her outer lips, and into the glorious, wet, warmth around her inner lips. Wendy pulled her hand away, to let him take things from there.

Dipper moved his own hand, so that he could steady himself with both of them on either side of Wendy. Slowly, he lowered himself down onto her, pushing his cock into her tight, wet hole. He paused for a second when he heard Wendy’s breath catch, but she motioned for him to keep going, so he did.

Dipper wanted nothing more than to ram himself balls deep into her, but he didn’t want to hurt her, so he continued on, slowly. It was exquisite torture.

It must have been torture for Wendy, too, because finally she grabbed his ass, arched her back, bucked her hips, and let out a sharp grunt as she pulled him against her—into her.

“UNF,” Dipper groaned, as his cock was completely engulfed within Wendy’s tight, wet, ridiculously hot pussy. He nearly came. When he was sure he wouldn’t spurt a geyser at the first thrust, he began moving on her.Slowly, at first, again, because he wanted to last for more than thirty seconds.

“Dipper,” Wendy moaned, a ragged edge of need in her voice. “Please.”

Dipper finally lowered himself the rest of the way onto her, allowing his arms to rest as his hips (and hers) did all the work. He could feel Wendy’s muscles begin to tense beneath him, and she gripped his back so tightly that he wondered if her nails would leave imprints in his skin. A small whimper caught in her throat, and Dipper realized that she was already close to cumming. Again.

The idea that Wendy was about to cum brought Dipper to the brink, making his cock throb within her. He brought his mouth down on hers fiercely, and began to do what he’d wanted to earlier—he rammed himself into her, balls deep, repeatedly pounding her, the sound of their flesh smacking together echoing in the openness of the cabin.

Dipper cried out sharply as Wendy scratched his back hard enough to draw blood. It wasn’t a cry of pain, however. He was close to cumming, and was desperately trying to hold back until he got Wendy to cum again. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Dipper,” Wendy choked out. It almost sounded like a sob. Her tensing muscles suddenly stiffened completely, and she arched her back, as her pussy began to pulsate around his cock.

“Ha! Ha! Ffffuck,” Dipper cried, as he felt himself erupt within Wendy. He pressed into as her as hard as he could, his hip thrusts now involuntary as Wendy’s spasming pussy continued to milk his cock.

When Wendy’s spasms finally stopped, Dipper pulled out, and rolled off of her. They lay side-by-side, eyes closed, trying to slow their breathing.

“Dipper,” Wendy murmured.

“Yeah, Wen?”

“Holy. Shit.”

“I agree.”

Eyes still closed, Dipper reached out and found Wendy’s hand, giving it a squeeze.

“Wendy?”

“Yeah, Dip?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

/

**Epilogue**

Despite his amazing night with Wendy, Dipper woke up the next morning with an ache in his chest. He’d tried not to think about the reason for the ache last night, and luckily he’d had a _really good_ distraction from it. There was no time for such a distraction this morning, however. He and Wendy had showered after their main event last night, (then the shower turned into an encore performance, but they eventually got cleaned up), so they just had to throw on their clothes and hop on Wendy’s four-wheeler in time to get Dipper back to the Mystery Shack so he could quickly throw his things in his suitcase before heading to the bus station. To go back to Piedmont. For an entire year.

An entire year without Wendy. It felt especially cruel now that he really knew what he’d be missing.

When he and Wendy rumbled up to the Mystery Shack, he was surprised to see the Stanmobile still out front. The bus to Piedmont left in a half hour, and Ford was especially picky about getting places early. Dipper wondered what the hold-up was.

When they entered through the house entrance, they were greeted by both Grunkles, standing in front of the door with their arms crossed over their chests, and Mabel sitting on the bottom stair, her packed bags next to her.

“Ugh, _finally_!” Mabel cried, throwing her hands up. “Your little disappearing act last night kind of screwed up our plans, bro-bro. I can’t believe you didn’t even text me or leave a note! Luckily your _girlfriend_ had the forethought to text me so I wouldn’t think you been kidnapped or something.”

Dipper cast a sidelong glance at Wendy, his eyebrows raised. She simply shrugged, and said, “Exacto knife.”

Then Mabel’s words registered. “Wait, _our plans_? Whose plans—what plans?” Dipper asked, looking back and forth between Mabel and their Grunkles.

“Well, kid, we were gonna surprise you last night when it was time to open presents, but Mabel told us you had the Hershey squirts,” Stan said with a shrug. “Definitely a good excuse to get people to leave you alone.”

Dipper blinked. “Surprise me?”

Ford nodded. “Yes, well, it’s really Mabel who wanted it kept a surprise. We’ve known about it since May.”

Dipper turned to his sister, a single eyebrow raised. “So, uh, what’s the surprise, then?”

Mabel squeed quietly, and reached behind her suitcase to pull out a flat, rectangular, gift-wrapped package. She held it out to him, and he took it, reluctantly.

“Well don’t just stand there, kid, open it!” Stan urged. “Mabel still has a bus to catch!”

“Okay, okay,” Dipper grumbled, as he found a seam in the gift wrap and slid his finger under the tape holding it together. Then he stopped, and peered up at Stan. “Wait. _Mabel_ has a bus to catch?”

Stan and Ford both nodded, while Mabel nearly levitated with excitement. “Just open it!” she cried.

Dipper turned to Wendy. “Do you know what this is about?”

She shook her head. “I’m as clueless as you.”

“Wh—”

The word hadn’t even fully formed in Dipper’s mouth when Mabel cut him off with a shriek. “Just OPEN IT!”

Dipper jerked involuntarily due to the volume of Mabel’s voice, tearing the wrapping paper where his finger had still been lodged under the taped seam. He sighed and ripped the rest of the paper off, and frowned at its contents.

“A picture frame?”

“Oh, for the love of—” Mabel said, facepalming. “Look at what’s _in_ the picture frame, ya dingus!”

Dipper held the frame out and peered at the document within it. He flipped it over when he realized it was upside down. When he finally saw what it was, he blinked in confusion.

“It’s a diploma… from our high school… saying I’ve graduated with honors… what…?”

Mabel leapt forward and hugged him. “Congratulations, bro-bro!”

Dipper felt lightheaded. He had to take a step back so he could lean against the door. “But… I still had two required classes… I don’t understand.”

Ford approached him, and clapped him on the shoulder, grinning. “Your parents thought it was silly for you to have to attend high school for another whole year, when you only had two classes, which, by the way, we found out, aren’t required by the state of California. The two classes you had left were something devised by the Piedmont school board. Your parents had me talk to your principal and school board about all the scientific research you’ve helped me with every summer, and they agreed to give you internship credit for the past three summers you’ve spent here, and waive the two courses.”

“And since you didn’t walk this past June because we wanted to surprise you,” Mabel added, “they said you have permission to walk with me at graduation this coming June, even though you’re officially done now.”

Dipper swallowed, and looked at Wendy, then back to Mabel. “So—does this mean—am I staying here with Stan and Ford and enrolling in community college while you go back to Piedmont by yourself?”

Mabel nodded. “I’ll miss you like crazy, but it’s clear to anyone who knows you that Gravity Falls is where you belong.”

Still dazed, Dipper looked to Wendy again, his lips trembling into a smile. “I—I get to stay here?”

Wendy grinned and threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “Sounds like it, dude.” Then she nestled her face into his neck and whispered “We’ll celebrate tonight.” Dipper shuddered when he felt her gently nip at his earlobe before pulling back from the hug.

“Congrats, kid,” Stan said. “Your home-away-from-home is now _officially_ your home.”

Dipper smiled and took Wendy’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “It always has been.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read this far! I really appreciate all the kudos and comments. I’ve left The Pact open to the possibility of a sequel (when I have the time to write one), so if that’s something you’d like to see, please leave a comment to let me know.


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